Fall of a Dragon herald and rise of a Phoenix
by chloemcg
Summary: One-shot. Phoenix arrives in Japan to visit his last living relative like he does once a year but doesn't realise that it would probably make him do something that is probably the most hardest thing hes ever done.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ace attorney, the rights to the franchise belong to Capcom and not me.**

**Fall of a Dragon herald and rise of a Phoenix**

* * *

The sun shone on a magnificent day.

The Japanese town of Takumi was thriving very well and the capital of the city was just as busy as ever. The city mostly consisted of large and tall skyscrapers with a unique design and had a somewhat urban vibe to it that made people feel like they were whisked back in time to a time where the current age was just starting out.

The crowds were bustling, each and every individual getting on with whatever task they were occupying themselves with, as they mobbed and scrambled about from place-to-place.

The sound of unanimous chatter was loud and made it so it was really hard to distinguish one line of sentence from another. The crowd murmured, talked and shuffled about without a single care in the world and it was a rather average scene until a certain spiky-haired attorney emerged from the crowd.

Famous attorney-at-law, Phoenix Wright, stepped out from the crowd.

He currently wore a brown trench coat that was worn over a pair of baggy tracksuit bottoms and a blue jumper that concealed a cerulean blue T-shirt that was worn under it.

Why was he there?

Since he had been really busy, he realised that he almost missed his annual tradition and knew he had to leave Japanifornia for a few days in order to fulfil his yearly adventure, but he also received news that he had to do this before it was too late. He always had to leave Trucy, Apollo and Athena behind back at the law office in the city since he thought that it should just be something for him to do to honour his family. He never liked leaving Trucy back home when she was properly confused about why he always left on his yearly "business trips" and, quite honestly, part of him wanted to bring her with him.

But no.

This was something he needed to do alone.

He had made this pilgrimage on an annual basis since he had become a cold-ridden teenager but now was the final time...

It took awhile of weaving, pushing, shoving, and gliding his way through the bustling crowds and carefully traipsing along as he tried to find his destination in, what he heard, used to be a quiet yet humble little town that had a quaint atmosphere and rich history. From how vividly it had been described to him, he could visualise it quite well.

It didn't take too much longer before the attorney had finally arrived after a short trek up a hill, which was _murder_ on his legs and back.

He'd arrived.

It was about time, too, since he felt as though his own spinal cord had twisted itself into a pretzel and his legs were like a strange mix of lead and jelly. His lungs were just about getting ready to burst like some helium balloons at a child's birthday party as he breathed in and out through clenched teeth.

After taking a couple of moments to recover, he glanced up so much that the back of his neck clicked painfully. He ignored it, however, in favour of looking up at the familiar Japanese building he had grown up in.

Stood before him was a rather understated building with a marvellous and ancient structure. It was a tall padgoda with a stilted roof —the building was covered in red-painted slits of wood that were paled into a dull brown due to how old it was. It looked so antediluvian and ancient now. Even though the building looked somewhat dilapidated, to Phoenix it was simply the home he lived at until he moved to America.

Seeing the place he grew up in since childhood in such a state had made sadness pinch at the attorney-at-law's stomach.

He shook his head to snap himself from his stupor.

He could dwell on such things later.

He gathered up his courage, stepped forth, opened the doors.

Upon seeing the stairwell, the Ace attorney began to venture down the main staircase of the building with slight haste in his steps. His numb knees were pounded so hard that he had to catch himself on the railing for a sec before continuing downwards. He felt as though this was the most exercise he'd gotten throughout his eight-year-hiatus and it was showing —the most obvious sign was the fact that he was huffing and puffing like a train.

It felt like an eternity flew by as he finally got to the bottom of the steps.

It was before long he reached a large room where he was met with the calming scent of incense, but he ignored it since it did little to quell his overpowering nerves.

Upon peering closer, squinting due to the darkness, he could make out a faint silhouette.

Phoenix frowned and furrowed a wiry brow, he had a good idea as to who it was...

He sped-walked towards the other end of the room and lit a small lantern that lay dormant on the ground, clearly its flame died out sometime ago. He watched as the light bathed the room in a beautiful amber glow that made it much easier to see everything. The spiky-haired attorney was met with a sight that made his heart stop with disbelief when he decided to see what that silhouette was.

He saw a bed...with an elderly man laying under the covers.

This man had short hair with few spikes that jutted upwards and had a scruffy fringe. He had deep brown eyes that had seen an era's worth of events —about more than 127 years to be exact. He had deep tan skin and had a few similarities to the much younger man stood before him, except his hair was significantly gray and his face held quite a few lines and wrinkles to show his age.

Ryūnosuke Naruhodō was his name.

He was Phoenix's great-grandfather.

The last biological relative of Phoenix Wright and the man who had raised him from birth since his mother, Ryūnosuke's granddaughter, died while she gave birth to him...Phoenix never met his mother but she was an artist apparently and was also a beautiful woman...at least according to his grandfather Ryū.

He even tried for an art course.

Phoenix felt tears begin to stream down his face as his lips trembled. He couldn't bare to see the man who raised him in such a state, to see him so frail. Of course he knew that this outcome, being so old as he already was inevitable and was bound to come someday —but he did become one of the _oldest _people walking the planet so he did pretty well to get this far.

"Grandfather...I'm...I'm here, Ojiisan, I'm here..."

Ryūnosuke opened his eyes, even if they were foggy due to age, and he smiled the instant he connected the dots and realised that Phoenix was right there —but he couldn't help but be reminded of his current situation when his ears pricked up at the sound of Phoenix's shaky tone and choked despair.

Seeing his beloved great grandson in such a state made him recall something.

Something from a long time ago...

* * *

_It was a cold windy night._

_Ryū sat on his seat with his gaze settled on the roaring flames that blazed on within the fireplace. His hands rested on his knees and he slouched comfortably in his seat; old memories flashed before his mind as he recalled the days when he became an attorney. He would have loved to hop on the lawyer wagon once more, just to feel that exhilarating experience of defending again, but he knew very well that his time could come at any second._

_Plus, his time had parted._

_He just couldn't do it anymore, no matter how much he wished to._

_The fire was toasty warm yet it provided no comfort to his troubled mind._

**_Bump._**

_Ryūnosuke felt as though his heart was about to blast out of his chest due to fright. He almost fell back and out of his seat and having a fall at his age wouldn't be good so, snagging hold of some teeny fragment of his common sense, and managed to catch himself while he simultaneously turned to face the source of the noise._

_It was dark but he could not-so-clearly see a familiar young boy._

_Ryū blinked incredulously when his foggy eyes fell on the youngling walking towards him._

_The five-year-old came wandering into the room._

_"Oh! Phoenix? What are you doing up, little one?" He asked, trying to sound stern due to the fact that he shouldn't even be awake right now, but not being able to stay angry due to the fact that he could make out a trace of fright on the little one's face. He had raised his children and helped raise his own grandchildren well enough to recognise those symptoms in such a small child such as his great-grandson:_

_A bad dream._

_Little Phoenix kept his gaze glued to his bare feet and to the floor, as if finding the ground much better to look at then the probable look of disappointment and anger on his great grandfather's face. He scuffled his foot against the ground and stared at his reflection in the wooden floor, staring at it sheepishly. He was clearly embarrassed about this and didn't want to bother the old man._

_"I...I can't sleep."_

_Ryū sighed to himself and pondered over the circumstances for a moment. It appeared that neither of them could fall asleep right now and probably needed to have a heart-to-heart. He needed a true distraction from his reminiscing anyway. He wished to remedy the boy's fears and who knows? Maybe this will let them both sleep._

_The old man readjusted himself in the seat, albeit slowly since his hips weren't what they used to be, and he stretched his arms out towards the boy to nonverbally invite him to come closer._

_Phoenix hardly hesitated and practically jumped into the elder's waiting embrace._

_"Why not tell me all about what dreams trouble you?"_

_Little Phoenix nodded his head softly in response._

_"I had a bad dream th-that you got taken a-away from m-m-me...!"_

_Ryū frowned with gentle concern. This wasn't the first time that the poor boy was tormented by these nightmares and he had to suppose that the lad simply had this deep-rooted fear of losing him but how and when it started he didn't have much of an idea. Either way, the retired lawyer felt his heart shudder for the child's plight, the way his voice trembled from fear made it all the more unbearable. Whatever else happened in this nightmare must have made it especially scary..._

_He soothingly stroked five-year-old Phoenix's back up and down in a comfortingly fluid-like motion._

_"__My young fire bird. __I plan on staying for as long as you need me, you don't __need to worry, I promise."_

_A few seconds of silence passed the two with the only sound between them being the quiet fire__ crackling away softly in the fireplace. _

_"Shall I tell you some stories to assist in helping you go back to sleep?" He asked as he put on a gentle smile._

_Little Phoenix nodded timidly as a reply._

_Ryū gently perched the boy down on his lap and started to tell him of the adventures and escapades in London. About how he'd met the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, about how he had defended many people in need when nobody else was standing behind them (including his first time when he ended up getting falsely accused), about how he defeated scum and villainy alike._

_All those memories were important._

_Alas he vowed to share each and every story with his grandson until he was old enough to recall them._

* * *

"My boy," Ryū spoke with a significantly weakened yet hoarse tone, "I wanted you to have this..."

It wasn't until now that Phoenix noticed that the old ex-lawyer had been holding something close to his chest as though he'd been guarding it. The elder summoned up just enough strength to pick up the familiar Japanese traditional weapon and lift it up in both shaking hands.

Phoenix saw as the sword wound up in his hands, his ocean blue eyes glancing down at it with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"Karma...? N-No, grandfather, I can't-!"

"You _can _and you _will_." Ryūnosuke cut Phoenix off sharply with his eyes narrowed fiercely, "Karma needs a new owner...and I know you have proven...yourself worthy enough,"

Ryū gave a half-hearted nod of his head to make an emphasis on how he believed that with his entire body. He wasn't going to let his last moments be filled with doubt, he refused to let the 35-year-old be consumed with grief and despair over his passing and he was determined to give on his dearest friend's prized possession over to the one person who was worthy enough to be its new wielder, though he never actually fought with it.

The elder spoke through breathless pants, "You have...made me proud...after all you have done..."

Phoenix squeezed his eyelids together tightly as the tears spilled from his eyes and flowed down his cheeks despite the fact that his eyes were closed. He felt naught but pain in his heart as the thought of him losing the only father he ever had was becoming too much for him to bare.

He had to wonder if this was how Apollo felt when he lost Dhurke?

No wonder he broke down in court...

The spiky-haired attorney in blue gripped the sword in both hands, holding the handle as tight as he possibly could, and opened his eyes again to glance back at his grandfather. The old man was smiling softly at him as he weakly offered out his hand for Phoenix to take hold of; the spiky-haired ace attorney didn't hesitate to put the katana blade down and seize a tight grip of the hand, but he made sure it didn't hurt the old man.

Both hands —old and young— connected like two pieces of a jig-saw puzzle.

"Phoenix. Listen to me. You had —even though unknowingly— protected the legacy that I started...you also helped the legal system...in the USA...rise from the ashes like the mythical...bird of which...you were named...just like how I heralded...the proper legal system...from the Meiji era from the birth...country of the mythical dragons..."

Ryū smiled a smile as soft as velvet as his eyes started to drift close, starting to well up with tears.

"I have...seen many things over my...lifetime. I've traveled across...the world...I'd married the woman...I loved, had a family...raised many great children..._and_ I left my legacy in the most capable of hands..."

Phoenix felt his heart threaten to shatter like glass as he had to chew his lip to prevent himself from bursting into tears on the spot. He could feel the old man's life force start to drain —he didn't know whether being around Maya and her magatama was responsible for this or not— and he couldn't help but feel his wiry brows curl with despair. His lower lip quivered and trembled violently as he lowered his head, letting the tears fall and drip to the bedsheets below.

"G-G-G-Grandfather...!" He sobbed.

Ryūnosuke smiled weakly yet warmly.

He felt so proud of the person that his descendant had become, he was so honoured to be related to such a great man —this man whom was orphaned at birth but then raised by legendary lawyer "The lost Dragon herald"...this man helped usher in a bright and new age of the law, bringing the legal system out of the dark age it was in for seven long years...it was more then Ryūnosuke could have ever dreamt of accomplishing.

The elder squeezed Phoenix's hand as hard as he could despite of his deteriorating condition.

Phoenix choked back further sobs as he managed a soft smile back as he tried to comfort the old man in what was probably going to be his final moments. His facial muscles ached from the effort and strain that his poor cheek muscles were going through but he preserve red through the discomfort as he grabbed tight on Ryūnosuke's wrinkled hand which seemed so strong but so frail at the same time.

The attorney had to think, though.

Had it always been that way?

He had always remembered his grip being as strong as iron but he supposed that it had been weakened and eroded by the river of time, in his case the river of time had flowed way longer then it was probably supposed to.

"Don't worry. I...I'll pass on all you've done, I won't let your stories fade. Ever."

Weakly, Ryū used the last of his remaining strength to lift his hand up to touch his great-grandson's face and caress his cheek. He could smell the salt in his tears as he felt the remorse emanate from the younger man's being and he couldn't help but feel the overpowering urge to comfort him and soothe his pain, even if it was in such a simple and meaningless gesture. It seemed to work, though, since he felt Phoenix's face relax beneath the palm of his hand and it made his seemingly ever-lasting smile broaden ever so slightly.

Phoenix still felt the tears flow, trying hard to keep his own smile up.

After all, it was times like this were when attorneys had to put on their biggest smiles...right?

Ryūnosuke gasped a breath and started murmuring in a voice that was as warm as a fire blazing in the midst of a roaring blizzard. "Ryūichi...my phoenix who rises from the ashes..."

Phoenix gasped a bit.

It had been ages since he had been referred to by his Japanese name.

He much preferred his English name but...it felt _nice _to hear that name again.

He hadn't even realised how much he had missed it.

His grandfather resumed talking, his voice finally lowering into a quiet whisper.

"You...You have to promise that...th-that you will keep defending people...who can't protect themselves...promise me that you won't ever give that up ever again."

"...I promise."

Ryū still smiled as he said one last thing.

"A-And...please...give Trucy a hug from...me..."

Even though his eyes had some lingering tears as a wistful smile made his lips curl.

The lawyer in blue kept smiling, even though he was so sad, and he leaned over the bed, bent down to plant a soft kiss on his grandfather's brow as gently as he could.

Phoenix could feel the warmth leaving Ryūnosuke's old body as his lips pressed softly against his honey-coloured skin and it made his heart ache even further, he could hear him say something else. His voice was barely audible as he took one final exhale before his breaths halted and he fell into his deep and eternal sleep.

Phoenix bowed his head respectfully.

Ryūnosuke Naruhodō was no more.

* * *

It felt like eternity before Phoenix finally exited the building with his arms full of items.

He was carrying a bundle which consisted of a black cloak, Karma, a photo frame with a picture inside of his grandad Ryū (whom looked so much younger —probably when he was a few years younger then Phoenix was now) and a hat. His grandfathers belongings from his lawyering days. He felt bad enough taking his great-grandfathers friend's katana but this just made the reality come crashing down harder than an avalanche.

He could feel the sunlight caress his face with warmth, it felt really nice; it was like the breeze and the sunlight themselves were synchronising perfectly right now to uplift his spirits a little bit. If this was the case, no matter how improbable it seemed, then he appreciated the attempt even though he very much doubted his mood could be picked up so easily.

He couldn't help but feel this gnawing in his heart, he couldn't believe that...that he was gone...

_(It might take some time for me to get over it, but I hardly think I can ever truly recover from this.)_

As Phoenix started to make his leave, he felt a small sliver of wind brush passed his shoulder and a voice whisper in his ear. It was a voice he'd never heard before but he recognised it...he knew he did. What the voice had said was faint and slightly distorted but he could feel the weight of the words hit him like a ton of bricks as he stopped and closed his eyes when he heard them.

_"I'll always be by your side, Phoenix,"_

Phoenix's eyes flew open in shock.

Did he _really _just hear that?

A sensation of wonderment swirled in his chest.

The more logical part of Phoenix couldn't help but question how on earth he could've heard anything, especially down here, and he had a suspicious inkling that the voice belonged to none other but Ryūnosuke himself. He knew how implausible that was but he knew it just had to be. He could have sworn that, when he looked down at the photo in his arms, he could see the portrait of the man grinning brightly.

The spiky-haired lawyer blinked a few times to see if he was going crazy...but no, it was still there.

He looked down at his chest, where his badge proudly sat upon his lapel, glinting in the sunlight, and he smirked down at it as he caught a glimpse of his own reflection. He was sure that his great grandfather, parents, and his ancestors would stick by him from now on.

He raised his head to look up.

He could only say five words that he whispered softly, looking skywards to watch some stray cherry flutter across the breeze before flying out of sight:

"...Arigatō, Ojīchan...Sayōnara, Ryūnosuke Naruhodō."

* * *

**A/N: Here is a new AA fanfic, sorry it took awhile to post a new Ace Attorney fic.**

**I've been stuck in hospital so I spent a lot of my time working on this, I'm feeling better now though.**

**I have a head-canon where Ryūnosuke takes care of and raises Phoenix all by himself, he lived in his home village while Phoenix moved to Japanifornia but always went to see his great grandfather once a year to give him some company. I know its not very likely to be act canon since Ryū was REALLY old but I think its possible.**

**Anyways, I might make a follow-up fanfic for this.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

**-Chloemcg **


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